My ex had a 70’s Chevelle when we started dating. It was badass. He and the Oz man have even seen it around town here and there. I loved driving it. There was some weird reaction when the men would admire a muscle car and then see a woman climbing out of it. As if they couldn’t quite get their heads around the fact a woman was driving a dude’s car. It was lulz.

One of the descriptions of Muscle Cars I’ve seen describe them like this; the car should be just like human, STRONG, POWERFUL, and with STRENGTH.

Huh. So like this?

Obviously, a well fueled machine. (Rugby men FTW.)

I’ve known other Muscle Car enthusiasts and the one constant in all of them is that they keep their little beauty well fueled. Only the best. That V8 is so well taken care of it boggles my mind how they can put so much effort into a car and not apply it to their own lives. Everything is precise as to the TLC they give all the way down to the fuel they use to run them.

Fuel. Ya know, food in human terms. Big and strong doesn’t come without it. Sorry. You can look all you want for other sources. Some equate that Advocare shit with fuel. Nope. Not the same. Sorry. Food. Fuel. One of the first things people ask me or Matt when they meet us is which supplements they should be taking. The best supplement on the planet?

Food. Meat. Veggies. Fat. No shortcuts, no short changes. Food. It fuels us. Without it we are not performing our best. We leave ourselves open to disease; malnutrition; lethargy; obesity (what?); a revolving door of doctor’s visits; illness; lack of concentration, subpar athletic ability to name a few kickbacks of not fueling your body correctly. Ya know, fun stuff.

Yesterday, I played chauffeur for some friends and took their daughter to her lacrosse game. In the lacrosse world, we say LAX. So you know. Now, I don’t have a clue how this game is played but I did get a crash course of it and though it’s not something I would enjoy (so much running), I can appreciate the athleticism needed to do it well. The other team had maybe five or six girls (I think this is 6-7 graders or something like that so for girls a pretty wide variety of body shapes) who were what one mom next to me called, “overweight bully’s.” Nice job mom, start ’em young.

The funny thing is, these “overweight” girls were built very similar to how I was at that age. Already had a shape, bigger legs, and never again to see a stick figure in the mirror. Ya know what the fun part was? These girls were the best out there. Their weight held strength and their ability to apply force off the ground was noticeable. They were able to blow by the “non-developed” girls with ease as if they were a fly on their forearm. They were the best runners. They were the most athletic. Now, their team lost but I don’t care. These girls are on their way to having a chance to be very good athletes. Yeah overweight bully’s (yes, playing aggressive now is called field bullying. Foking ‘merika.)

Two of them came off the field as we were waiting talking about how hungry they were. Cause, ya know, they were short on fuel. They’d just been running for over an hour and a half and needed to refuel. So awesome.

These girls? Think they avoid fueling their bodies like a 70’s Chevelle?

ps: sprinters are amazing.

According to Livestrong, sprinters diets are dialed in precisely to be able to take in the calories needed for training (fuel) but without gaining too much body fat. 60% of your daily intake of fuel should be protein and you should consider 1 gram of protein per one pound of body weight. Pretty standard stuff. I get about 200g of protein in through food and protein powder which (right now) is less than 1g per bw but hey, I’m a phat (but really I’m just short.)

Honestly, if you google pretty much any sport where energy is expressed, the diet will be very similar. Fuel first, coming in the form of protein, carbs and some fat (coconut oil FTW.) Here’s a picture of Big Z’s breakfast prior to the squat event in last weeks WSM 2015 in Malaysia (he took second place, foking 3rd atlas stone and injured back. Still though, great job):

Now, of course we need to apply this to Strongman squatting instead of 6th grade LAX but still, get the picture? Food is fuel. Without it, we are not running at optimum performance. Why would we not want to run at optimum performance?

Why?

To me, breakfast is my most important meal. It’s often the meal you play a game on. I make sure I have oatmeal, milk, and fruit. It’s the fuel you use to hopefully do your best, so eating right is a big part of being a professional athlete. I wish I paid more attention to it earlier in life.

Andrew Luck

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About tosabarbell

For training opportunities at tosabarbell, call or text Juli at 320-296-9313. jep6095@gmail.com
tosabarbell is a private, home grown gym with three lifting platforms; squat rack; prowlers; throwing implements; bars, bumpers and everything else needed for an effective strength and conditioning program. Straightforward barbell programming including the Olympic lifts; sound (read: not fancy bullshit) diet advance for weight gain or loss; and strong coaching will ensure you will meet your goals such as becoming stronger, more explosive, and better conditioned.
Juli has been coaching teams and athletes for over 20 years. She grew up participating in various sports at various levels but was always drawn to those that require strength training. She is a 2-time Master's Amercian Weightlifting Champion and holds six Master's American records. She is a Master's Weightlifting National Champion and holds three National records. She is a Master's Weightlifting World Championships Silver Medalist in 2016. Juli is also a Masters Highland Games World Champion and holds three World Records in the Braemar Stone; Heavy Weight for Distance, and Light Weight for Distance in the 45-49 class. Her 5 years of training and coaching under Mark Rippetoe has honed her coaching skills to be a top choice for you to reach your strength and conditioning goals. Juli will strongly encourage tosabarbell athletes to compete (and prepare you to do so.) However; tosabarbell is also for those who just wish to be stronger and go through life feeling better.
Matt WanAt is a retired Professional Strongman who competed frequently with Strongman Champions League in Europe. He played a year of D1 football with Iowa before concentrating on his Chemical Engineering degree in Iowa City. He is a native of Wauwatosa and still remains a staunch supporter of Tosa East.
This blog will be a mixture of strength notes, coaching and nutrition tips, personal shit; bacon delicacies, and a whole lot of fun.